Best Friend's Brother
by revivalofawriter
Summary: A collection of unrelated Lou & Ravi oneshots based on One True Pairing prompts found on tumblr. Most are AUs. *Review to let me know what you think of this pairing*
1. Poop

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Ravi stepped out onto the porch with his feet spread apart and his hands on his hips, expanding his frame to allow as much pine-scented summer air to pour into his lungs as possible. He lifted his chin to feel the sun on his face as it peaked over the trees that towered the lake, but he didn't dare close his eyes. Not when everything was its freshest green and radiating summer's glory.

"Is this not the most beautiful sight, brother," he said.

Luke glanced up at the forest ahead then looked back down to his phone.

"Uh huh. Sure. Hey, have you played this new game?" Luke said, holding up his cellphone. He leaned back in his rocking chair and propped up his feet on the porch's cedar railing. "Download it so I can play you," he smirked, "And beat you, of course."

Ravi's jaw dropped as he motioned his hand at the trimmed lawn leading to the forest path. "How can you play a dime-store arcade game when nature beckons us to explore its wonders?"

Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Like this." His thumbs returned to their work of tapping and scrolling as he muttered, "What's a dime store?"

"Well, I refuse to waste a lovely summer morning," Ravi said as he descended the steps. "Our parents didn't rent this humble cabin for things we can do back in New York."

"It has eight rooms," Luke mumbled with his eyes still locked on his screen.

Ravi walked happily across the lawn, whistling a tune and swinging his arms at his sides. Nothing could ruin the start of such a wonderful day. Until he stepped in something squishy not even ten feet from the porch. He stuck his nose in the air when the funky stench hit him and he shut his eyes as anger washed over him.

"Again!" he shouted.

He could already hear Luke laughing from the porch. He didn't need to open his eyes to know his brother was standing at the edge, holding onto the rail for support as he cracked up. He tried not to reason why he could feel the warmth of the offending gunk through the bottom of his hiking boot. Unclenching his fist, he turned on his heels and slowly marched back to the porch.

"Dude, relax," Luke said through his chuckles. "It's just dog poop."

At the bottom of the steps, Ravi slipped out of his boots then climbed up.

"I will not relax. This has become ridiculous! I have stepped in a new foul pile ten times since we began our vacation here."

"Hold up," Luke said, looking down at his phone. "No, it's only been nine." He wiggled his phone in front of Ravi. "I keep a calendar."

Ravi swatted the phone away. "Nevertheless, this has got to stop."

Luke shrugged his shoulders and leaned his back against the railing. "Okay. So, what're you going to do?"

Ravi tugged on the end of his hiking vest and stood tall. "I will have a word with the property owners."

"You mean those farmers? Have you seen their sons? Those dudes are ripped. I think I saw one carrying a cow on his shoulders, bro. Just hose off your girl boots and go on your little walk."

Ravi crossed his arms and huffed. "They are unisex and I can't help it if I have less-than-average sized feet, Luke."

Luke slung his arm around Ravi's shoulder and steered him toward the front door of the vacation house.

"Let's get your phone so you can play this game with me," Luke said. "We can take some Instagram shots on the lake when Dad gets back with the boat."

"No, can do." He ducked under his brother's arm and walked back to the steps. "I must resolve this dog defecation issue before it gets out hand. Besides, I don't particularly care for dogs, anyway."

"Ugh," Luke groaned, slumping his shoulders. "Fine. Do you want me to come so we can both get our butts kicked?"

Ravi waved his hand and rolled his eyes. "You exaggerate. I can assure you, nothing will deter me from stopping that pooping pooch."

Luke clapped his hands together and walked backward into the house. "Cool, what I'm hearing is a no." As the door swung shut he added, "I got your blood type."

* * *

"Excuse me sir or madam, I appreciate your hospitality in allowing the Ross family to rent on your property. But it is entirely unacceptable for your pet to use our lawn as a doggie toilet," Ravi practiced his speech aloud as he walked up the rocky path. The grey pebbles crunched beneath his wet boots and he could hear a horse trotting in the distance. He carefully stepped around a cluster of clucking hens before making his way up the rickety steps to the farmhouse. It looked much smaller than the vacation house where he and his family were currently staying, but it was homey. There were more potted plants than the porch had room for and the door was painted a ripe-strawberry red against the eggshell white house.

He puffed out his chest and knocked firmly on the door. He heard the moaning of a cow somewhere and his chest deflated. Images of buff dudes with young calves on their shoulders flashed in his mind. His legs began to shake and the hair on the back of his neck stood.

"These are nice boots and it's happened far too often. Ten, wait, nine times is far too many," he mumbled to himself. He took a deep breath and shook his arms as he exhaled. He smiled to himself as he felt his resolve overcome his fear. Pride swelled in his chest and he stood taller.

"Nothing behind this door can deter me. No more doggie do," he whispered to himself.

He heard footsteps behind the door and he took in a breath as he heard the lock roll back. He opened his mouth, ready to give his speech.

"Excuse me sir or madam…"

"Well, howdy," the girl greeted him with a smile.

"I lawn hospitality doggie rent," he sputtered. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak again, but it was a lost cause.

"I'm Lou," she said, sticking out her hand for him to shake. She gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder when he didn't move. "You must be one of the Ross folk. I've been meaning to come by but I just got back into town. Big rodeo two towns over. But my parents say y'all are great."

After an awkward pause, Ravi finally spoke. "Cool." He winced at the words. Lou just smiled, a pearly smile that promised kindness and genuineness. It made him nervous. Suddenly, he didn't know what to do with his hands or his feet or his eyes. He decided he should probably stop starring at her face so he focused on the red door behind her. He crossed his ankles so that he leaned awkwardly to the side then shook his head and uncrossed them. He held out his hand for her to shake, but then dropped it at his side before she had a chance to.

Lou glanced around the yard, silently, with her hands in the back pockets of her blue jeans. She smiled at the familiar sounds of her home: clucking hens, water sprinklers, suckling piglets, tea kettles. She leaned against the doorframe and gazed at the forest in the distance.

"Isn't it such a pretty day, neighbor," she said.

He had to look at her now. The door was nice but he couldn't fight the urge to ignore the door and the forest and the lovely potted plants to stare at the non-lumber jack, non-rude owner girl at ease in the summer morning breeze. She was taller than him but not by so much she'd have to look down to not step on him, which had totally happened when his sister Emma hit her growth spurt. He guessed she was probably older than him, no babyish features to her face. A face he decided he really liked and wanted to study like one of the chemistry books he brought with him for the summer.

Lou sighed and rocked on her heels, looking down at the painted boards of the porch. Ravi felt his breath catch in his throat as panic seized him. He didn't want her to be bored and turn and leave him standing at her door trying to remember why had even walked over to this house in the first place. Why had he walked over there?

"I love dogs!" He shouted. He immediately regretted his volume but Lou didn't seem to mind.

"I love dogs, too," she said with just as much enthusiasm. She clapped her hands together then reached them both out to him. "You have to meet all of my puppies!"

Before his brain could tell his hands not to, he grasped her hands and let her tug him behind the red door.

* * *

Ravi trudged up the steps to the vacation house. Luke and Zuri were lounging in rockers, air-drying after their trip to the lake. Zuri lifted her shades and raised an eyebrow at Ravi.

"What's with the paw prints?" she asked.

Ravi held out the hem of his shirt. Dusty paw prints covered his hiking vest and plaid shirt. There was a tiny tear from a particularly rambunctious pup that mistook him for a chew-toy. Though, he hadn't minded since Lou declared it the funniest thing she had ever seen.

Luke chuckled and leaned forward. "Dude, did they beat you dogs? That's messed up. I don't even know how that'd work."

"You don't know how anything works," Zuri said, rolling her eyes.

Luke smacked his lips and tucked his hands behind his head. "She's still made I threw her in the lake." He stuck his tongue out at her then turned his attention back to Ravi. "So, you handle the dog poop thing?"

Even though he was grinning, in fact he had that goofy look on his face the entire time, he sighed.

"Not even a little."

Zuri stood, stretching her arms and legs. "Is this about the crap Ravi keeps playing in? Like nine times?"

Luke chuckled and Ravi insisted he was a victim and not "playing" in dog feces.

"Whatever. I'm bored now," she said before going into the house.

"I know what happened!" Luke shouted holding a finger in the air like he just solved a difficult equation. "The dog answered the door and wailed on you for giving him crap about his crap." He pressed his hand against his lean frame and bent over chuckling.

Ravi leaned against the railing, tracing one of the paw prints on his shirt. "And the dog isn't that bad," he mumbled. "And the puppies are cute."

Luke straightened and quirked an eyebrow at his brother. "You, the lizard king, played with puppies."

Ravi looked over his shoulder at the lawn and said, "It's really my responsibility to watch where I step. And I could be a bit more neighborly and pick up the muck. I mean, I'm a scientist; I've handled far worse."

When he turned back, Luke was standing in front of him with an odd look on his face. Then that trademark Luke smirk spread across his lips.

"Dude," Luke said, lightly punching his younger brother in the arm.

"Ow," Ravi whined.

"She hot? More importantly, does she have a hot older sister?"

Ravi rubbed his arm. "I think she's the older sister."

"What! Dude!" Luke squealed with glee. "How could you possibly be making me this proud? And I still need an answer about any hot sisters."

"No clue. All I know is I'm walking seven dogs tomorrow." He ran his hand through his short hair. "I can't believe I'm walking seven dogs tomorrow!"

"I know! What did this chick do?"

"Showed me a bunch of dogs and smiled at me," Ravi said, waking from the dreamlike state that he had been trapped in from the moment Lou opened her farmhouse door.

"I'll have the hose ready for your girly boots," Luke chuckled. "You're going to need it."

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"Your dog keeps pooping on my lawn AU."**_


	2. Motorcycle

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Ravi Ross raced across the wide, white stripes of the crosswalk, balancing monstrous textbooks in one thin arm and gripping the top of his opened bag with the other in a weak attempt to keep the freshly printed pages of his term paper from flying out.

 _Just three more._

"Pardon me," he shouted as he shouldered his way through a small crowd of unhurried students dressed for autumn in their peacoats and baggie NYU sweaters.

At the edge of the sidewalk, he bounced from one fashionable boot to the other. Being the best dressed sophomore in the engineering program was the upside to sharing an apartment in the village with his sister Emma. Having her musician boyfriend accidently delete the alarm on your phone when he borrows it was the downside.

"Come on, come on," he muttered, willing the signal on the other side of the crosswalk to change from the orange stop hand to the little green walking man. For once it seemed to work.

 _Two more!_

He gritted his teeth and pumped his short legs harder, rushing for the next crosswalk before the timer reached 3, 2, 1.

 _Yes! Made it! Almost there._

His nostrils burned and it felt like fire flames were licking at his rib cage. He hardly registered the dinging of a bell behind him. He shifted his body to the right in time for a bicyclist to race by, close enough to get a whiff of her musty body odor and passion fruit shampoo. Up ahead, he saw her speed across the crosswalk before the green walking man changed to a timer.

"One," Ravi breathed heavily, "more."

His left upper arm and forearm stung under the weight of his advanced physics text. 6, 5, 4.

He dug his fingernails into the thick fabric of his bookbag. 3, 2, 1.

He skidded to a stop at the edge of the sidewalk. The glaring light of the orange hand forbade him from crossing the empty street. A pool of sweat formed in the crook of his neck. After chancing a glance at the watch on his wrist, he groaned at the time. He lifted his eyes back to the signal. The evil orange hand glowed. The bottoms of his unathletic feet tingled. He flapped his stinging arms like a chicken as he kept his eyes locked on the signal.

"Excuse me," a bushy haired woman muttered as she pushed past him and jaywalked, disregarding the hand.

Ravi's eyes widened in disbelief. He watched her briskly walk to the steps of the large building, the building he needed to get to, the building on the other side of the street. He bit his lip then immediately regretted doing so because it hurt and he was already in enough pain from physical exertion.

The signal still remained unchanged and he thought surely there was some sort of electrical problem that he couldn't be held accountable for if he were to just illegally cross the street. And who would see? It's an 8 a.m. class. Ravi looked one way. Nothing but a few faculty cars parallel parked and the rear of a service truck driving in the distance. He heard the rumbling of an engine but his focus was the building up ahead.

He inhaled, exhaled, and stepped into the street. And the world went topsy-turvy.

Hazy blues and whites of the morning sky swirled with the grays and blacks of the paved road. Pain shot through his body then fizzled down to an uncomfortable tingling. He slowly lifted his head, but it felt heavy, like he had a boulder on his shoulders instead of a skull.

"Sweet Bessie! Are you okay?"

The world stopped spinning long enough for his foggy eyes to settle on the brunette hovering over him. She tucked a strand of long hair behind her ear and frowned down at him. Golden flecks of autumn sun were in her green eyes and the loud thumping of his heart made his growing headache worse.

"My paper," he gasped. He propped himself up on his elbows and groaned as he scanned the road. His books and all twenty pages of his term paper were scattered around him.

"Hey, slow down, buddy. You look worse than my Uncle Spud after he's had one too many cold beverages behind my Grandma Dotty's." Her mellow voice was laced with a country accent. "Let me get you to a hospital."

"Hospital?" He raised his hand to his head and shut his eyes for a second. "I can't because of my..." His eyelids flew open and he nearly shouted, "My class!" Rolling onto his knees, he crawled across the crosswalk and collected his papers. "Oh dear, I am so late."

"Class?" She collected books in her arms as she looked at him worriedly. "I really think you should go to the hospital."

A car horn honked behind them before the driver swerved around the motorcycle parked in the middle of the crosswalk.

"You could've held your horses, pal!" She shouted as the car continued down the street. "Can't you see this is an emergency! The people in this town." She bent down and picked up her sleek, black helmet. After a quick dusting with the palm of her hand, she tucked it under her arm and moved to put the textbooks on the seat of her bike.

Ravi stood on the sidewalk, shoving his things into his bookbag and muttering to himself.

"I cannot miss a class. This is a disaster. Never have I even been late. Oh no, what if my paper is illegible now. And here I am without my flash drive. Always put it in the cloud. Always! This is exactly why I…"

He stopped talking, and breathing. He was completely paralyzed as she brushed her fingers across his forehead. The burning in his chest from running had died out but now his skin heated under her touch.

"You could have a concussion or something," she said softly. She pressed her pink lips together and nodded with a determined look. "Get on the bike. We're going to a hospital."

"While I appreciate your concern," Ravi said, taking a step back and adjusting the bag on his sore shoulder, "And I appreciate being hit with your motorcycle less, you've done quite enough. And I'm late for class. So, if you'll excuse me."

He turned sharply and lifted his boot only to wobble and fall backward into the woman's arms.

"Kindly tip me forward and I'll be on my way," Ravi said in a strained voice.

He expected her to push him forward and hop onto her motorcycle to drive away or even let him fall to the sidewalk before huffing off. But he did not expect her to laugh. A full and cheery laugh that was like a balm to the dull pain behind his eyes. He felt a new breath in his body as he relaxed into her arms.

"I'm used to being laughed at, but this is certainly an odd circumstance," he said letting his eyelids flutter close.

"Hey, don't do that," she said, shaking him in her arms.

He awoke, startled, and moved to stand on his own. He let his bag slide down his arm. The sounds around him became less muffled and the trees dotting the campus once again had definite lines against the pale sky.

"Ravi."

He blinked. Despite the pain and anxiety flooding his brain, he couldn't help the smile or rush of joy from his name on the stranger's lips.

"Anything," he exhaled dreamily.

"What?"

He shut his eyes and shook his head. "I mean yes. Or no? Sorry, uh. I don't know your name. Wait, how do you know my name?"

She lifted one of his books off her motorcycle. "Inside cover, Ravi," she said. "And I'm Lou. And you seem like the kind of guy that could miss a class or two to make sure he doesn't have a concussion and still make an A."

He took the book from her and it took all his strength not to let it fall back to the pavement. "No can do, Lou. I've a term paper due," he says shakily.

She stared at him. Her face expressionless. He felt sweaty again and as much as he hated running he really wanted to run then.

 _I just had to go with the rhyme, didn't I._

"I might be new to New York, but even in Mooserump, Maine there's email."

He tilted his head back and muttered, "Email. Why didn't I think of that?"

When he looked down, Lou was on her motorcycle and holding out an extra helmet.

"So, Ravi. Are you going to class or are you coming with me?"

He fidgeted with the strap of his bookbag and thought that _this was the coolest moment of his nineteen years of life_. But he's only one semester into his sophomore year of college and it seems too soon to start missing class because of a pretty girl. Then again, it's also too soon to have an undiagnosed concussion.

"Please drive slow, Lou."

"No problem, partner. You're safe with me," she smiled. "This is the only accident I've ever had."

He let out a sigh of relief and climbed on behind her.

"Then again, I just got my license a week ago."

"Wait, what!"

She looked at him over her shoulder and winked. "Just pulling your leg."

And she smiled and he was convinced that all morning he was really running to be hit by this pretty girl on a motorcycle.

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"I'm running late to school and you just hit me with your motorcycle cause you're also late and no I don't want to go to the hospital instead because I cannot miss this test just please give me a ride instead?"**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties.**


	3. Frostbite

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

"Did you do something with your hair?" Lou asked as she leaned against the frame of Emma's bed. "Because it looks just great."

Emma smoothed her fingers through her blonde locks and narrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "No. Nothing new." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and smiled. "But thanks, Lou."

"No problem, bestie," Lou said nervously. "Ma best friend. My sister from a richer mister. Homegirl." She tapped her fingers against the wood bedframe and whistled.

"Lou, is there something wrong," Emma asked.

"Wrong? Why would there be anything wrong. Wrong," Lou chuckled nervously. She cleared her throat and twirled the ends of her hair with her finger. "So, so wrong."

"Lou," Emma said impatiently. She stood and pointed at her neatly made bed. "Sit. Now," she commanded.

Lou did what she was told and sat down like an obedient child about to be scolded.

"Speak," Emma said.

"Arf," Lou barked half-heartedly, holding her hands up in front of her and giving Emma puppy eyes.

Emma gave her a stern look and crossed her arms. Lou gave up the act, dropping her hands to her lap and sighing.

"So, you know that guy Ravi?"

Emma shifted her brown irises from side to side before hunching her shoulders.

"Obviously, Lou. He's my brother."

* * *

Ravi paced the floor of Grizzly cabin, carefully stepping over piles of Jorge's dirty laundry.

"So, you know that gal Lou?" Ravi said to Xander.

"Obviously, Ravi. She's my best friend."

Xander kicked his feet up on the card table and added, "And who says 'gal' anymore?"

"Right, of course. And you're Lou's best friend," Ravi said, fidgeting with his hands.

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Which is exactly what I just said. Have you been inhaling the lake fumes again? Look, we can go to the infirmary and have Hazel…"

"No!" Ravi shouted, pausing in front of Xander with his hands raised in front of him and his eyes wide. He forced a grin and slowly lowered his hands to his sides. "I mean, no need to bother Hazel." He rocked on his heels. "Or speak to Hazel. I really think we should keep a respectable distance from Hazel for the rest of the summer."

* * *

Lou scooted to the edge of the bed and said, "And you're Ravi's sister." She bit her lip nervously then clapped her hands together. "Now that we've got that all cleared up, let's go make smores." She hopped up with her hand to her tummy. "I'm in the mood for smores. You in the mood for smores? Yes? Yes! Let's go!" She grabbed Emma's wrist and pulled the CIT to the door before Emma could protest.

Lou opened the door, but her eyes widened at the sight in front of her: Hazel skipping by the cabin.

"Hazel," Lou squeaked before pushing Emma back inside and slamming the door.

* * *

"I'm down for avoiding Hazel," Xander said, "But why are…"

The CIT cut him off with a "Good talk. See you later," before speeding over to the door. But Xander was too quick and beat him to the exit. The counselor straightened his back and crossed his arms, blocking the only means of escape.

"Is there something on your mind, Ravi?"

* * *

"Hey!" Emma pouted as she regained her balance.

"I hate smores," Lou said, her back pressed against the door. "Let's just hang out in here and not talk or go outside ever again."

Emma tilted her head and stepped forward. "Lou, you're really upsetting me. What's going on? You know you can tell me anything."

Lou sighed and slid her back down the door. After a moment of silence, Lou said something.

"Ever been locked in the freezer?"

* * *

"Did you say locked in the freezer?" Xander practically shouted. He patted Ravi's head and shoulders. "Dude are you okay?"

Ravi took Xander's wrist and gently pushed them away. "I'm fine." He walked over to his bunk and sat down. He tapped his fingers against Mrs. Kipling's cage.

Xander pulled up a stool across from him. "Are you saying Hazel locked you in the freezer? And what does that have to do with Lou?"

* * *

"She locked you and Ravi in the freezer!" Emma sat on the end of Lou's bed with her legs folded beneath her. "You poor thing. Your skin must be so dry right now."

Lou hugged a pillow to herself and shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. You know that freezer's been on the fritz. It was really cold but not enough to be dangerous, which is probably bad news for the meat in there. We really should get a health inspector out here."

Emma nodded. "I get why Hazel locked you and Ravi in the freezer…"

"She's evil," Lou and Emma said simultaneously. "Duh."

"But I don't get why you're acting so weird about it. We should be confronting Hazel or at least putting pudding her shampoo bottles," Emma said with a grin.

* * *

Xander stood up with his hands on his hips. "I'm going to make Hazel apologize."

"No, you can't talk to her!" Ravi settled down. "I should be the one to tell you what happened."

"Isn't that why you're upset? Because Hazel's picking on you?"

"Not quite." Ravi rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. "And I'm not really upset, per say. I just don't want you to be upset."

Xander sat back down slowly, waving his hand for Ravi to go on.

"Although it was not dangerously cold in the freezer, it was still fairly cold. Considering it was a stressful situation and the temperature was not ideal, I may have said something out of character for me."

"What did you say?" Xander asked.

* * *

Lou eyed the ceiling of the Wood Chuck cabin, trying her best to avoid eye contact with Emma.

"The day had been pretty hectic already, with the arts and crafts debacle and the failed canoe trip, so being locked in a freezer was the last straw. So, I may have done something out of character for me."

"What did you do?" Emma asked.

* * *

 _"I choose the wrong day to rock these sporty khaki shorts," Ravi said through chattering teeth._

 _Lou clutched the sleeves of her jacket as she wrapped her arms tighter around herself._

 _"I'm going to string Hazel by shoestrings when we get out of here," she chattered. She shook her head, the glitter that bunny cabin had dumped on her earlier glinting on the floor. "As if this day hadn't been bad enough."_

 _"You're telling me," Ravi said, rubbing his shoulders and huddling closer to Lou. "I've had it with Bobcat cabin's constant teasing at the lake."_

 _Lou stepped closer to Ravi, pressing their shoulders together. "Those girls can be pretty vicious."_

 _"You bring floaties once and you're branded for life? How's that fair," Ravi said, folding his hands together and blowing into them for warmth._

 _"The one shaped like a duck? I like that one. So festive," Lou said. She laced her fingers in front of her face. "Does that really work?"_

 _He shook his head and blew into his hands again. "Not at all. It's purely psychological. If I blow into my hands, I feel like I'm doing something to stop myself from turning into a human popsicle. My mind interrupts it as work and I can sort of convince myself that I'm warmer than I actually am."_

 _Lou blew into her hands and frowned. "Nope."_

 _"Here," Ravi said. He placed his hands around her own. "Um." He was too shy to look up at her once he realized his actions._

 _"We should hug."_

 _He blinked and looked up at her. She was looking up at the ceiling and her face had reddened; he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or her sudden outburst._

 _"For warmth," she added with a tense shrug._

 _The freezer's faulty cooling system hummed and the sound of some creature scattering behind the boxes of horse meat echoed in the room._

 _"I think it's festive, too," he said, keeping his eyes over his shoulder as he lifted his arms in front of him. "Aside from lizards, ducks are the party animal," he chuckled nervously as he settled his arms around her in an awkward hug._

 _"Though pigs are way more fun than ducks," Lou said. She rested her hands on his shoulders and stared at the chipping polish on her fingernails. "But a pig floatie wouldn't make much since unless you're at a mud slide."_

 _"You've been to a mud slide?" Ravi asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow and finally looking at her._

 _She smirked at him, looking him in the eye, and said, "You haven't?"_

 _They both laughed, warming up a little on the inside and stepping a little closer together. Ravi gave a content sigh. He felt all the pressures of the day rolling off of him like the chill coming from the cooling system. All the thoughts and plans that he had solidified in his brain began to melt away and he couldn't catch any one of them that didn't fit with that moment standing so close to one of his best friends. He opened his mouth and before he could stop the flood of random words, he spoke._

 _"It's so cold my mouth is numb. You should kiss me before we get frostbite."_

* * *

Emma sat with her mouth wide open as she stared at Lou.

"Hey," Lou said, snapping her fingers in front of Emma's faced. "You alright?"

Emma grabbed Lou by the shoulders. "He said what now?"

Lou blushed and bit her lip.

* * *

Ravi stood with his face in his hands, embarrassed beyond belief as Xander beat his fist against the card table in laughter.

"You actually said that," Xander laughed. He wiped a stray tear from his cheek. "Ravi, we got to work on your pick-up lines." He exhaled as a final chuckle escaped him. "Cause there's no way that worked."

Ravi dropped his hands from his face and said above a whisper, "But it did."

* * *

"You kissed Ravi!" Emma squealed. She pressed a palm against her chest and said, "But that line was so cheesy."

Lou hunched her shoulders. "I milk a lot of cows. I like cheese."

"You're not mad?" Lou asked, nervously picking at a thread on her blanket.

Her best friend threw her arms around her and squeezed her tight.

"Of course not!" Emma leaned back. "This means I get to plan your wedding and we'll actually be sisters!"

"Wait. What?"

Emma squealed again and hopped off the bed. "This will be so great. We're going to have the best life together."

"It was just one to three kisses," Lou said, but Emma wasn't listening.

"I've got so much to plan. I'll make a wedding binder for you like the one I made for me and Xander," Emma said before leaving Lou in the cabin speechless.

* * *

"So you are not upset about my lip lock with your female best friend," Ravi said to Xander. "I know you must think of her like a sister."

Xander shrugged. "Nah, I'm good. Besides, now I feel less bad about making out so much with your sister."

"Wait. What?" Ravi said before Xander saluted him and left him in the Grizzly cabin speechless.

* * *

 _When Hazel decided to end Lou's torment for stealing the seat beside Xander on the counselor's retreat the week prior, she opened the freezer door._

 _"Gross!" Hazel shrieked._

 _Lou backed away from Ravi with her hands in the air._

 _"I didn't want frostbite!"_

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"It's so cold my mouth is numb, you should kiss me before we get frostbite."**_


	4. Bruschetta

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Lou fidgeted with the table napkin and scanned the banquet hall one more time. Under the bright chandeliers, couples chattered over their overpriced salmon and petite chocolate cakes. The high-backed chair across from hers remained empty, and she hoped the dim light of the center-piece candle didn't show the look on disappointment on her face.

"I'm sure Dylan's simply stuck in traffic. You've visited enough to know how New York is."

Lou smiled over shoulder. At the table behind her sat her good friend Ravi. The backs of their chairs were less than a foot apart.

"Yeah," Lou replied. She added some cheer to her tone. "In fact, I bet Dylan and Sara are splitting a cab over here now."

Ravi turned back to his untouched silverware. He briefly struggled with the urge to kick over the empty chair across from him and storm out of the fancy restaurant for being stood up again, but that sort of action wasn't like him so he sat there. He took up his salad fork and poked holes in a dinner roll while trying to tune out the violinist playing in the far corner.

Lou glanced at her phone, checking for a third time for any new text messages. She looked up when the waiter cleared his throat.

"Would now be a good time to order or do you need another half hour?" The corner of his mouth twitched impatiently as he glared down at her.

Her face heated with embarrassment. "I'll take an appetizer," Lou muttered, clenching her fist under the embroidered linen table cloth.

"How specific," the waiter grumbled.

Ravi skootched his seat back an inch and leaned into their conversation.

"She'll take the bruschetta. The ones with the sundried tomatoes," Ravi said. He eyed Lou and added, "It's delicious. Like little pizzas."

She handed the waiter her menu and said, "You heard the man. Bru-something."

The waiter choked back his disgust then turned his nose up at Ravi and said, "I expect you're still waiting."

"I'll take the house salad, for now, please and thank you," Ravi said, lifting up his menu and smiling, unfazed by the waiter's attitude.

"Of course," the waiter huffed and walked away.

Lou smiled over her shoulder and said, "Thanks."

"Of course," Ravi said in the same gruff tone the waiter had used.

Lou chuckled before they turned to their respective tables and continued to wait.

 _Some Valentine's day._ Lou thought to herself. _Boy did I choose a bad time to visit Emma._

"So, how was your trip?" Ravi asked. He kept his back to hers but spoke loud enough for her to hear.

"Uh. Good. The usual, I guess. Xander going on and on about Emma. Me going on and on about Emma," she chuckled. "I love the woman, but she's got to stop with the blind dates."

"Tell me about it," Ravi muttered. He took another sip from his glass of water and sighed. "I feel like I'm part of a constant social experiment to test how many times I can be rejected by a model."

Lou turned in her seat. "Hold up. She's been setting you up with models." She pouted. "I keep getting the campus DJs from her liberal arts school." She turned back in her seat. "Except, this time I'd actually met Dylan when I helped Emma move into her new loft."

"I do not envy you for having to help sort through all of Emma's designer bags," Ravi said.

Lou thought for a moment before asking, "Hey, where were you that weekend?"

"Visiting Luke in L.A, I think. That was during the fall, correct?"

"Yeah. Wow, I guess I haven't really seen much of you." She flicked the edge of the napkin dangling from the bread basket. "It seems like every time I come to visit, I hardly see you."

Ravi pulled a buttery roll apart and stared at the spongey center. "I regret that." He dropped the roll and cleared his throat, adding quickly, "As I enjoy your company as well as Xander's. We should make an effort to spend more time together. All of us. At the same time."

"Your antipasto," a server said to Lou. She sat a pearly white, rectangular plate on the table. "Anything else, madam?"

Lou shook her head and smiled down at the food. Drizzled with olive oil and herbs, little pieces of toasted bread topped with creamy ricotta and bright red diced tomatoes lined the plate. She picked one up and popped it into her mouth.

"Now that's good eatin'."

She heard Ravi chuckle behind her and she rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop a smile. "Good call on the app, Ravi."

"I know," he said smugly. The server returned and placed his salad in front of him. She ground some pepper on the leafy greens then walked away.

They ate quietly, only glancing at the empty seats in front of them occasionally. Lou slid her phone into her purse to keep from checking it again for a message from Dylan. Ravi twirled the single red rose he had brought with him for Sara.

"Want one?"

Ravi broke out of his stupor and asked, "What was that?"

Lou turned in her seat to face him. "Please come sit with me. I feel like a crazy person talking at an empty table in this fancy-pants restaurant."

"But what about Dylan. And what's her face," Ravi said, pointing a thumb at the clean plate and silverware across from him.

"They'll see us and we'll join them when they get here," Lou said.

Without another word, Ravi collected his things and sat down at Lou's table. She held out her plate.

"I had asked if you wanted one of these tasty tomato things," Lou said.

"Oh, yes. I love these," Ravi said, pinching one between his fingers and taking a bite. "Mmm. The sole purpose of this establishment. Aside from the dark chocolate tart."

"Figures you've been here," Lou said. She stuck her fork in his salad and stole an olive. "I know how you and Emma enjoy your 'fine dining,'" she said with finger quotes.

"Contrary to your belief that fine dining is barbecue stains and assorted gravies, I can assure you this is the most popular spot in the city for Valentine's day."

"Right," Lou sighed. "It's still Valentine's day, unfortunately."

Lou looked over at the table adjacent from them. A couple sat with their chairs huddled together at their table, whispering and holding hands in the candle light.

 _How can two people being so adorable be so punchable right now,_ she thought to herself.

"Which is why Emma picked this place for our blind dates," Ravi said, swiping another piece of bread off Lou's plate.

She took her eyes off the couple to look at Ravi.

 _He looks nice in a dinner jacket and collared shirt,_ she thought.

"I know why I got roped into this, but why are you here?" Lou asked. "I'm guessing you don't know much about 'what's her face.'"

Ravi took a drink of water. "I still think Emma feels bad about the Harvard disaster."

Lou narrowed her brows. "That creep. I can't believe the admissions counselor did that to you. I still think you should sue or something. Isn't that a thing rich people do?"

Ravi shrugged and laughed good-naturedly. "It's okay. I don't want to be at an institution where bratty sons have their fathers block candidates because they can't get a date with the candidate's sister." He was quiet for a moment before he waved the snotty waiter over.

"Yes," the waiter said through his oddly sharp teeth.

"More bruschetta and two dark chocolate tarts, please."

The waiter rolled his eyes. "And any real food, today?"

Ravi looked to Lou for her input. She grinned and said, "Mini pizzas and dessert sound real to me." She winked at the waiter. "Chop, chop, garcon."

"Yes, madame," he grumbled then turned on his heels and practically stomped away.

"Who put Birchwood up his bum hole?" Lou said.

Ravi laughed. "It's been too long since I've heard phrases like that." He picked up the water pitcher and refilled Lou's glass. "Have I ever mentioned that I like the way you talk? In like, the least offensive way possible."

"Well thank you. I like the way you talk too," Lou said. She tapped her fork against her plate. "But that probably does sound offensive."

"No. I get what you mean." He straightened an imaginary neck tie. "Ladies love the accent."

His phone buzzed in his pocket and Lou felt her heart drop.

 _Oh no, Sara must be here. He's going to leave. But I shouldn't care; he's not my date. But now I'm back to looking like a total loser in a place I so obviously don't belong. He made me feel like I belonged…I should just get an Uber and go back to Emma's. She and Xander are probably still out having a good time. Maybe I'll just watch Netflix and eat those chocolates at the bottom of her fridge._

"I should probably get going," Lou started, scooting her chair back and putting her napkin on the table.

"She's not coming," Ravi interrupted, looking up from his phone in his hands.

Lou sat back down. She ignored the tiny flutter of joy at his statement and hoped he didn't see the tiny smile it produced, feeling kind of bad about it. She looked down at the phone being held out to her.

"Is she snap chatting a different date?" Lou asked in disbelief.

"Guess she hadn't heard the accent." He tucked his phone away. "Honestly, it's not the worst way I've been stood up," Ravi sighed. "Still, it's not the best feeling."

Lou reached out and placed her hand on top of his on the table.

"Her loss," she said gently.

They locked eyes and Ravi opened his mouth to speak but the server was back with their food. Lou pulled her hand away but he left his there waiting beside the water pitcher.

"Let's dig in," Lou said, breathily.

Ravi flexed his fingers and nodded.

"Almost done with your first year of college, Mr. Scientist. How's it been?" Lou asked between bites.

"Amaze," Ravi said gleefully. "I love academia. I'm already planning for my master's degree."

"That's great." Lou took a sip of water. "School's never been my thing."

"But you're happy in Maine, working at that dairy plant?" Ravi asked politely.

She knew he was just stating a fact, but something in her gut twisted. The food suddenly tasted sour and she put a hand to her stomach. He noticed the unsettled look on her features.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"No," Lou shook her head. "Not at all."

She put down her fork and glanced around the crowded room again. This time she wasn't looking for Dylan. To be honest, she wasn't sure what she was looking for.

"Here," Ravi said. "It's too lovely to keep for myself."

She looked back in his direction and saw him holding out the rose to her. It was a deep red and the long green steam was free of thorns. She took the flower and whispered a thank you. She felt her face heat slightly, so she took another sip of water. Ravi dipped his head down shyly and ate silently as Lou twirled the flower between her fingertips.

"I didn't mean to offend you," Ravi said softly, after a while. "I'm truly sorry if I did. I think the dairy plant is an excellent work opportunity. And I'm sure you excel in your performance."

She gave a little smile with her head down and eyes on the rose.

"Oh, I'm a great diary girl." She shrugged her shoulders and looked up at him. "But what if there's something more? I don't know. I'm probably just being silly."

This time he reached out and placed his hand on hers.

"Science is all about curiosity. If you think there's something out there for you, it's your duty to find it. Search, explore, ask questions. There's nothing silly about that."

Lou grinned. "You sure you're only eighteen? I'm tellin' you, sometimes I'm sure there's an old wise man trapped inside that noggin of yours."

"Choice words for a twenty-year-old that says noggin," Ravi teased.

Her heart fluttered when he smiled at her and her hand tingled beneath his. The candle light caused shadows to dance across his face and she no longer had the urge to block out the romantic violin music. The stringed instrument seemed fitting for the flurry of feelings flittering around in her noggin.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," a deep voice said beside her.

Her joy deflated like an old tired. She looked up to see Dylan. His hair was disheveled and his necktie was twisted like he had just thrown it around his neck. He gave her an embarrassed smile.

"Has Valentine's day always been on the fourteenth?" he chuckled nervously.

Ravi frowned and pulled his hand from Lou's. She flexed her fingers, urging them to remember his touch.

"Well, I shall leave you two to it," Ravi said. He stood and offered Dylan his seat, which the young man immediately plopped down into.

"Why don't you stay?" Lou said, her voice squeaking a little. She cleared her throat and tried in a less frantic tone, "You said you love the tarts."

"It's fine," he said unconvincingly. "Maybe another time." He awkwardly patted her shoulder. "Happy Valentine's day, Lou."

She watched Ravi walk out of the restaurant as Dylan apologized and offered excuses for his tardiness. His voice faded to noise as she let the music of the violin pour into her. She felt lonelier than she had all night. And she thought about the things that were out there for her.

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"**_ _ **Both stood up for a date, end up having an adjacent table date at a nice restaurant.**_ _ **"**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties.**


	5. Brother

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

"Hello," Lou answered in a groggy voice. Her phone had just blared the default ringtone at 2 a.m. and, despite her most reasonable judgement, she answered it.

"Lou."

She shot up in her bed, knocking one of her squishy pillows to the carpet. The voice was familiar but not a voice she was used to hearing when the owls were hooting at the inky sky. Her foggy brain could only come up with nightmares as to why he would call her so late.

"Ravi, what's wrong?"

"That's what I should be asking you."

She scratched the itchy spot behind the knot of brown hair on her head and furrowed her brows.

"Mmm, it's too early for brain teasers. Is Emma okay? Is Zuri okay?" Her eyes widened and she cupped the phone closer to her face. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said. He yawned over the speaker. "Just a little tired."

"Well, you're in L.A., right?" Lou counted backward on her fingers. "It's like eleven there." She flopped back down on her mattress. "I know it's L.A. but that still seems past your bedtime."

"True," he laughed but it sounded forced to her. There was a heavy pause before he spoke again. "But I couldn't sleep."

Lou felt her heart beat a little faster against her rib cage. "So you called me?"

She could hear him rustling around like he was trying to get comfortable or he was struggling with something.

"I saw your text message," he said. "The one you sent a week ago."

Lou stared up at her bedroom ceiling, replaying his words in her mind until something clicked. She lifted her phone from her ear and looked through her messages. There it is was, glowing in the moon-lit room in a message bubble she had intended for Emma.

"Lou, are you still there?"

Her mouth felt dry but she coughed out a, "Yep."

She could hear her pulse thumping against her eardrums, drowning out the sound of his breathing on the line. She saw the fluorescent green numbers on her desk clock change from one minute to the next.

"It's okay, you know," he finally said.

"I thought I was sending the message to Emma," Lou explained, tugging on the arm of her plush cow teddy.

"That makes more sense," he said. He sighed. "I'm just a little confused."

She asked before she could stop herself. "But not angry?"

"Angry? I love my brother dearly and I love…all parties involved," he cleared his throat. "If you wish to engage in a romantic relationship with Luke, you have my blessing. Not that you need my blessing. But you have it nonetheless."

"Luke?" She sat up again, pressing her back against the headboard. "Ravi, what are you talking…"

He muffled a groan and interrupted her, "And I'm sorry for my meddling, but please forgive me. I'm just really confused. I mean, the last time we spoke at Zuri's graduation party, it seemed like you and I were enjoying each other's company. And I hardly saw you speak to Luke. Unless, there was some secret aspect to your relationship that I had not known about."

"Can Luke even keep a secret?" Lou said jokingly. She heard him laugh and this time it didn't sound forced, but it wasn't at full strength either.

"I just didn't realize you two were an item. And I don't see how I could've missed it. Lou, I've known you for over five years…and we're close…you're one of my best friends…and I can't let you date my brother until I've told you how I feel about you."

Lou kicked the blanket off her feet and nearly shouted. "Hold the phone, cowboy. Did you say date your brother? As in Luke? As in me date your brother Luke!"

"I saw the message you intended for Emma," he said, his voice sounding strained. "'I kissed your brother. Is that okay?"'

Lou's breath caught in her throat. Embarrassment wrapped around her like a wool blanket and she poked her head through long enough to confess, "I kissed you, Ravi."

There was a static sound, like he had dropped the phone, before she heard him speak again.

"I'm certain I would've remembered that," he said, letting out a nervous chuckle.

She shook her head even though he couldn't see her through the phone. "No, you wouldn't have. You were asleep." She bit her lip and sighed. "We spent the entire weekend talking and hanging out and you were funny and cute and the grown-up version of the sweet guy I went to summer camp with. At Zuri's graduation party, we sat out on the patio and you couldn't stop talking about your hiking trip in New Zealand and how you would've never done it had Xander and I not pushed you to embrace nature. It was late and the party had started to wind down and cheese makes you sleepy."

"Indeed it does," he said softly then shut up for her to continue speaking.

"You fell asleep on my shoulder and I guess I kissed you," Lou said. She held her breath and stared out the dark window. She could see the rigid outline of her daddy's tractor under the stars.

Ravi didn't speak.

The call was still in progress so she was sure he hadn't hung up. She knew she should've never sent that text message. But it had been gnawing at her conscious. Emma was her best friend, and she never wanted to keep secrets from her. Especially secrets that involved her possibly developing feelings for her best friend's little brother. Lou figured this had to be her punishment for not telling Emma right away or, better yet, not keeping her lips to herself like her Grandma Mae always told her to. But she didn't tell Emma and she didn't keep her lips to herself and she hadn't stopped thinking about a peck on the lips that happened three months ago.

And she had to know.

"Is that okay?"

She shut her eyes as she waited for the punch to her gut.

"No."

She opened her mouth and all the air forced its way out of her lungs. Her eyes began to sting with tears and her throat felt scratchy like she had a hairball lodged in her esophagus.

"Oh," she said hoarsely.

"Wait, yes! No, that came out wrong. I mean no! I mean yes!" Ravi rushed.

She was too nervous to speak so she didn't.

Ravi took a breath and said slowly, "Let me try this again. No, it's not okay for you to kiss me while I'm unconscious because then how will I kiss you back?"

She tightened her grip on the phone.

"And I lied about giving you my blessing to date Luke. I know it's wrong, but I lied. The thought of you kissing him kept me from sleeping, like a living nightmare. I've been glaring at his couch every night for the past week and avoiding him every day. I've only given him two hugs this entire visit. I have a five bro-hug minimum when I visit him, Lou."

Lou chuckled and the pain in her chest eased. Her eyelids felt heavy as relief and joy washed over her.

"Lou?"

"Hmm?" She hummed sleepily.

"I've changed my mind. You can kiss me anytime you like, unconscious or otherwise."

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"I've been texting my friend for about a week now and they don't reply but it turns out I was texting a random person and there was some deep personal stuff I sent oh my gosh why are they calling me now? Bonus if the person calls at 2a.m."**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties.**


	6. Red

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Lou struggled to ignore the pang of jealousy in her abdomen as Tiffany described the scene in front of them. The stretch of pale blue sky high and out of the reach of brown and green tree limbs. The faded tan of fences and the splotches of yellow pollen dusting their surfaces. The bursting blossoms of purple flowers planted along the sidewalk. Eleven-year-old Tiffany was thrilled with the new vision she had of the color-filled world, but Lou felt sour.

"I always thought 'golden rays of sunshine' was a little overdramatic, but now I see. The sun's rays do appear like golden streaks on the chalky white sidewalk." Tiffany squatted and patted the rough cement. "No longer am I confined to black and white images of the natural world. Take that sidewalk!" She slapped her palm against it. "You must now share visual interest with those purple flowers and that red mail box."

"We get it, Tiffany. You have a big vocabulary for a kid. You met your soulmate and now the world's in color. Put a can in it."

Tiffany stood with her shoulders sagging a little. Lou immediately regretted her harsh words and held her hand out to the little girl.

"I'm sorry," Lou apologized. "I didn't mean that."

Tiffany took Lou's hand and they started walking down the path to the Chens' home.

"Soulmates are gross, anyway," Tiffany said, swinging Lou's arm. "Boys are icky. He's more like a vision enhancement donor."

Lou rolled her eyes. "You're old enough to understand how love works. Everyone's born seeing only black and white until they meet their soulmate. Then the world is…"

"Flooded in color. Blah, blah, blah. This isn't about love, Lou. What's greater is that it's a scientific phenomenon." Tiffany freed her hand and folded hers together as she skipped in place. "I can't wait until I go to mother's lab tomorrow. To finally see what she sees while titrating fluids."

Lou lifted her eyes to the sky. She felt the warmth of the sun on her face. It was still bright white light to her, no golden rays.

"Don't you think she'll be more interested that you found your soulmate?"

"I doubt mother's interested in the new booger eater at my middle school," Tiffany said flatly.

Lou pulled the house key out of her pocket. It was the same dull gray the lock was. She opened the door to Tiffany's home and they walked in.

"His name is," Lou began but Tiffany cut her off by sticking her fingers in her ears and yelling "I'm not listening!" at the top of her lungs as she marched up the stairs.

"That's no way to treat your babysitter," Lou shouted from the kitchen. She heard a bedroom door slam and smirked to herself before getting to work.

Humming to herself, she grabbed an apple out of the bowl of fruit on the kitchen island and began to slice it for Tiffany's snack. She stopped mid slice and mid hum. She held up a piece of the fruit; it's juice slid down her thumb. She knew apples came in an assortment of colors, but she could only distinguish them by taste. Yellow apples were syrupy. Red apples were sweet. Green apples were sour. But they were all the same gray the rest of the world was.

Lou sighed. She glanced around the kitchen. The Chens weren't really a decorative bunch, but the few items that had been placed as a part of the décor were lost on her. Did that bouquet of lilies really brighten the room? Had the sunlight through the windows faded the color of that painting on the wall?

She glanced back down at the slice of apple in her hand and gasped. The fruit fell to the floor and she jumped back from its landing place. Her heart beat roughly against her chest as she peered down at the flash of red on the tiled floor.

A knock on the front door made her look away.

"Tiffany!" Lou called, her voice a little shaky. "Please get the door!"

She waited a beat before she heard Tiffany shout back, "You're the babysitter!"

Lou's eyes were still locked on the red peel. There was another knock at the door.

"Coming," Lou called. She kicked the slice under the fridge and rushed out of the kitchen.

"Get a hold of yourself, Lou," she muttered, wiping her hands against the side of her jeans. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath behind the door. "You're just worked up over that soulmate mumbo jumbo."

She grasped the doorknob but looked over at the mirror on the wall beside the door.

"This," she whispered as she let go of the knob and stepped closer to the mirror. She pulled at her cheeks as she stared at her reflection. There were dusts of pink on her cheeks. Her eyes were green. There was a red pimple on the right side of her chin.

A loud bang outside of the front door shook her out of her thoughts. She swung the door open. She had to squint as golden rays of sunshine flooded her vision. She gasped again and held onto the edge of the doorframe. Blues and greens swirled in front of her. The red mailbox Tiffany had mentioned was across the street. She could see the mint green of the trees and the plum purple of the flowers.

"This is amazing!" she cheered, grinning wide.

"And also a little distressing," a voice said in the bushes below her.

"Oh," Lou said, finally coming back to reality.

She tried not to blink, afraid to lose all the new color in her world. She could see the brown eyes gazing up at her from the bushes, and she decided right then that it was her favorite color.

"Please, a little help would be most appreciated," the young man said, flailing his arms in front of him.

"Right," Lou said quickly. She stuck out her hands and hoisted him to his feet.

"Hi."

"Hello."

They stood so close that Lou could smell the scent of freshly mowed grass and bush blossoms that he had fallen into. She realized she was still holding his hands in her own and immediately let go.

He cleared his throat and said, "I'm Ravi Ross, Tiffany's tutor."

Lou frowned. That sour feeling she had had earlier consumed her, more bitter than before. Her eyes took in the short, thin guy in front of her.

"You're eleven, aren't you?" She said, voice void of emotion. She put her face to her hands and groaned.

Ravi huffed and straightened his jacket. "No, I am not eleven. Excuse me for being lean and fun-sized."

Lou dropped her hands to her hips. "Ugh. I hate when short people call themselves 'fun-sized.' It sounds ridiculous."

"I have seven national science fair trophies that say I'm far from ridiculous."

"Look, kid," Lou said. "I appreciate the vision enhancement donation…"

"That sounds so cheap."

Lou held up her hand and said, "This ends here."

"I'm not eleven! I'm sixteen. Tiffany takes a high school class and I have to monitor her work." He swopped up his bag and grumbled, "Perhaps today isn't the best day for me to do so."

He stomped away but he didn't make it out of the lawn before he heard Lou call out.

"Two years!"

He gripped the shoulder straps of his bag. He didn't turn back to face her but he shouted back, "What was that?"

"We're two years apart, age wise," Lou said. She stood behind him, tugging nervously at the sleeve of her shirt.

They stood in the center of the soft, green lawn, under the yellow sun. A chubby little bird landed beside Lou's foot. She bent down slowly, holding her breath so it wouldn't fly away. The gray and blue streaks of its feathers looked metallic. A shadow fell over the creature and Lou lifted her eyes to see Ravi squatting down in front of her. He studied the bird and gave a small smile.

"I saw a lady bug," he said quietly.

She watched him, taking in all the colors around him. His green shirt. His brown eyes. His pink mouth.

"I had just walked up the steps and knocked on the door when I saw it," he continued. "A little red dot on the gray plant." He laughed lightly. "Isn't it amazing we're taught the color spectrum and yet we may never see colors. I'd never seen red, but in grade school we're taught ladybugs, they're red." He pulled his fingers through his hair and Lou felt herself wanting to do the same. "I thought it was a fluke at first, some trick of the imagination, but then the leaf where the ladybug rested…it turned green." He smiled up at her. "I got carried away, leaning forward to understand what had just happened and I fell into the bush."

"Where I found you," Lou said.

The smile fell from his lips and he gazed at her. "Yeah. You found me," he said softly.

She let the weight of his words wrap around her like a warm blanket and she felt comfortable enough to drift off into a dream. But the world was too new and too beautiful for her to sleep.

"Ravi get in here!" Tiffany called from the porch.

Lou turned to see the little girl with books in her arms.

"I want to go over some organic chemistry stuff," Tiffany said.

Lou stood and pointed over her shoulder. "I should probably get back to…"

"Yeah, yeah. Me too…" Ravi stuttered.

The babysitter and the tutor didn't move.

"Guys! Stop staring at each other and get in here!"

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"AU where everything is black and white until you meet your soulmate."**_


	7. Party

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Lou leaned into the door of Weasel Cabin and tapped her wet knuckles against the paneled wall. The lake water smell lingered on her cooling skin but her cheeks still had color in them from the work she had put into the paddling competition.

"Ready to be my date, Crazel?" She put one hand behind her head and waved her free arm while shaking her hips. "I've been working on my dance moves for when my jam plays."

Hazel stopped fluffing her platinum blonde pigtails in the mirror. She smeared some peach lip-gloss on then turned around.

"You're on your own tonight, loser," she said cheerily. She hopped up from her vanity and skipped over to Lou. "I've got a real date this year."

Lou dropped her arms and raised her eyebrow skeptically. "Really? Who'd you hog tie this time?"

Hazel rolled her eyes as she pushed Lou out the door. "None of your business." She gripped the door and said, "Have fun being the third wheel," before shutting it in Lou's face.

* * *

Ravi strolled into the mess hall. He had just gotten back from the camp library where he and Tiffany had discussed the parallels of Bram Stoker's _Dracula_ and Stephenie Meyer's _Twilight_. She being a fan of the former and he the latter. He tucked his copy into his bag then searched for a place to sit. He saw Lou pouting at one of the tables near the back and decided to join her.

He sat beside her on the bench and mimicked her position, elbows on the table with her chin squished in her palms.

"Why the long face, Lou?" He poked out his lip to make his face seem sadder and she chuckled.

She sighed and put her hands in her lap. "I guess it's not that big of a deal. It's just there's this party…" She stopped and slapped her hand over her mouth.

Ravi waved his hand and said, "I know about the big July fifth party at the camp across the lake. It happens every year."

"You," she pointed a finger at him, "know about that party? And you haven't ratted us out to Gladys?"

Ravi shrugged and ran his fingers through his short hair. "I can be Mr. Cool Guy."

Lou gave him a look and he confessed, "Fine. I told her you guys snuck out last year but she was too sad about the plumber breaking up with her to care."

"That sounds more like it."

She sighed again and propped her elbow back on the table.

"But I'm cool with it now," Ravi said. He drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "I can break a few rules."

Lou perked up. "Great! You can be my date tonight."

"Sure," Ravi responded as a reflex. He tilted his head to the side and his eyes widened. "Date?" he squeaked. He gaped up at her as she stood.

"Not a _date_ date," she said, messing with the ends of her freshly shampooed hair. "Last year Hazel—as a last resort— and I hung out while Emma and Xander were being all lovey dovey, but she's ditching me this year. The jerk." She stomped her foot lightly. "And I need a buddy to hang out with." She leaned into his personal space and she heard him gulp. "Unless Mr. Cool isn't so cool with breaking a rule now?"

Ravi straightened his back and held his nose in the air. "I am Mr. Cool and you can pick me up at eight."

Lou smirked, "The party doesn't start 'til midnight."

"You animals," Ravi gasped.

She patted him on the back then left him in the mess hall to grumble about appropriate amounts of sleep.

* * *

It was 1 a.m.

"Ugh, Emma, come on," Lou whined, her volume above a whisper. She leaned her back against the door and peered into the dark cabin.

"I need to look hot-mazing. This is like the only cool social event all summer," Emma whispered back, stepping out of yet another pair of sparkly designer heels.

Lou tossed aside one of the ten dresses Emma had flung onto her bed and plopped down. "I think you're forgetting about our epic Woodchuck movie nights."

"Who could forget you making us sit through hours of those 'Hunger Games' movies," Zuri grumbled beneath her blanket.

"Could you two hooligans sneak out a little quitter," Tiffany groused, momentarily removing the pillow she held over her face.

"Sorry," Lou whispered. She tiptoed over to Emma and tugged her bestie's arm. "This little jumper number you've got on looks fine. It makes your legs look longer. Now let's go get the boys."

Emma wiggled her arm free. "First of all, this is a romper, Lou. We've discussed this. Second of all, thanks." She stuck out her leg and pointed her sandals. "I've been working on my tan just to wear this." She pulled her leg back. "And third of all, we can't all date Ravi, who doesn't care how hot you look in that dress, which you totally do."

Zuri and Tiffany shot up in their beds.

"You're dating Ravi!" They both shouted.

Lou's face reddened and she shushed them.

"It's not a real date," she said through her teeth.

Emma shrugged and straightened Lou's cardigan. "But your also with me, so I do care how hot you look in this dress." She wiped a smudge off of Lou's face. "The burden of growing up with a stylist."

"The burden of growing up with you in general," Zuri said.

"Amen," Tiffany added.

Emma squinted at them and said in a low voice, "Don't make me come over there. I'm not above tickling."

Zuri and Tiffany gasped and tugged their blankets over their heads.

"Goodnight," the campers said.

Lou grabbed Emma's hand and pulled her to the door. "Come on."

They snuck over to Grizzly cabin and tapped lightly on the window above Xander's bed. After seeing a flashlight shut off, they stepped around the bushes and waited at the door. Xander and Ravi tiptoed out, careful to shut the door quietly behind them.

"You two are an hour late," Ravi whispered, waving his wristwatch in Emma's face. His sister shoved him to the side and stepped up to Xander. Ravi stumbled over to Lou, who helped tip him back to balance.

"Hey, sweetie," Emma said, dipping her chin and looking up at him under her swooped bangs.

"Wow," Xander breathed. He took his girlfriend by the hand and spun her around like a porcelain ballerina in a jewelry box. "You look gorgeous."

She pointed a finger at Lou and perked her eyebrow and said, "And hot."

Lou rolled her eyes. "Which is why we're late, Ravi."

"Time well-spent," Xander said. He high-fived Emma before doing their couple's handshake: a fist-bump, finger snap, side bump combo.

"I love you both, but if you don't get to the canoe I have by the dock right now, I'm going to hurt ya," Lou said. "Can't miss my jam."

Xander gestured at Ravi, using the hand he was currently holding with Emma's, and said, "Especially now that you've got a date."

Ravi coughed then eyed Xander. "I told you it wasn't a _date_ date." He chuckled nervously and turned in Lou's direction, looking over her head rather than in her eyes. "I told him. You know, we should probably get going."

Lou gave a quick nod then took the lead.

The group followed her through camp until they reached the dock. Hazel was already there, standing by her date in the glow of a high-powered flashlight.

"Change of plans, losers," Hazel said as soon as they approached. "The good news is we ditched you guys for taking too long and went to the party."

"How is that good news," Ravi murmured to Lou.

"Bad news is some dorks brought booze to the party and the park rangers busted 'em. So no more party," Hazel continued.

"Boo," Xander and Emma said, pointing their thumbs down. They grinned at how in sync they were and hugged.

"Gross," Hazel gagged. Her arms looked shorter in the over-sized varsity jacket she had on over her dress.

"Oh well," Ravi said. He slapped his hands together and held them to his chest. "I suppose we had a short but still valid night of rebellion. Not what I imagined, but I'll still boast about it tomorrow. Off to our respective cabins we go."

"Wait a second," Lou said, unintentionally blocking Ravi's path as she stepped toward Hazel and her date. "You were going to the party with Eric?"

Eric tipped his chin up at Lou then threw his arm around Hazel's shoulder. The Camp Champion logo was barely visibly beneath his muscled and slightly hairy forearm.

"Hazel, he's a total sleeze bucket," Lou said, scrunching her nose at him.

"Yeah, he cheated on both you and Lou," Emma said. "Remember?"

Eric peered at Ravi, squinting and leaning forward a little. "Hey, you're that mouthy kid from the archery tournament." He let go of Hazel and stepped toward Ravi.

Ravi stood on his tippy toes, still not even reaching Eric's shoulders, and said, "You're that mouthy kid I beat in the archery tournament."

"Ohhhhh!" Xander jeered with his hands cupped around his mouth. His girlfriend slapped him in the abs with the back of her hand and shook her head.

Eric glared down at Ravi. "What're you doing dating my ex-girlfriend?"

Ravi flattened his feet and gaped at Eric. "I'm not…we're just…It's not like a date per say." He fidgeted with the sleeve of his jacket. "I mean, we're just going to this party…you know, as friends…and…"

"Way to be awkward," Hazel murmured before picking between her teeth with her fingernail.

Lou stepped in front of Ravi and poked Eric hard in the shoulder. "What're you doing dating your ex-girlfriend," she said, pointing her thumb at Hazel. "Kind of defeats the purpose of the 'ex'." She put a hand on her hip. "Unless you still think that stands for 'extra'."

Eric smirked and back peddled to Hazel, lazily propping his arm atop of her head. "I have a thing for blondes."

Hazel giggled and reached up to grip his bicep, dropping the flashlight to do so. It rolled over to Ravi and he held it up.

"Except when I have a thing for brunettes," he winked at Lou.

"Gross," Emma said, jutting out her tongue. "What a pig."

Ravi clenched his jaw and tilted the flashlight slightly, so the bright beam shone in Eric's eyes.

"Ow! Watch where you point that thing!"

Ravi held the flashlight upright, again. "Oops," he said flatly.

"Hey!" Hazel jabbed her finger in Emma's direction. "You better be nice. Eric's my date." She batted her lashes at Xander and said, "Unless you want to be my date, Xandy."

"I'd rather be arrested by the park rangers," he replied, holding Emma closer.

"Worth a shot." Hazel shrugged. She pursed her lips together and glared at each of them. "Then you clowns better be nice to Eric if you want a ride in his SUV."

"You have a car," Emma asked, her interest piqued.

"Yes." Hazel wrapped her arms around Eric's waist. "And my boo is going to drive us to the only 24-hour burger place in Moose Rump."

"Backyard Bo's Burger Bunker," Xander squealed. He pumped his fist in the air and said, "Awesome! I love that place." He high-fived Eric, who because of a shared love of grilled meat returned the palm slap, and said, "All in the past has been forgiven."

"Dude, they've got a burger now with like five patties and two layers of turkey bacon," Eric said.

"Turkey bacon?" Lou mouthed at Emma, who shrugged.

"Dude, you're going to make me cry!" Xander did a little jump before tugging Emma away from the dock.

Hazel followed behind them but Eric stopped in front of Ravi. He stooped down into Ravi's bubble and sneered, "But the jerkweed and his date have to sit in the back."

Hazel shouted for Eric to hurry up and he stalked off. Lou sighed as she put a hand on Ravi's shoulder and looked ahead to the rest of the group.

"It's late and you don't have to go if you don't want to. I know Eric's a huge jerk."

He considered taking her up on the offer but he made the mistake of looking at her face. For whatever reason, it looked like she wanted to go.

So he said, "And miss out on a real milkshake? Do you know how long it's been since I've had ice cream that wasn't just frozen spoiled milk? I'm in." He placed his hand on her back and walked her forward. "Besides, I can't just abandon my not date."

He let go and they jogged to catch up with the others.

* * *

It was 2 a.m.

Backyard Bo's Burger Bunker looked like it was stuck in the 50s with vinyl everything and worn checkered tile. But it was packed with teenagers. Most of the chipped tables and faded-red booths were overcrowded and even the parking lot was overrun with cars. Stereos were on full blast, mixing Zedd with Flo Rida and Kelsea Ballerini, and no one seemed to notice because they were clogging their arteries with burgers and milkshakes.

"Guess you weren't the only one who had this idea," Lou said to Hazel.

"We call booth!" Hazel shouted before tugging Eric to a booth in the back that had just cleared.

The rest of the group rolled their eyes and ordered their food at the counter. Lou and Emma held their trays and searched for an empty table, but every table had a pile of friends spilling ketchup and soda on it already.

Xander spotted a tiny round table near the condiments bar.

"But only one chair," Emma sighed.

Lou looked at her two best friends. "You two should take the table. I know this is usually one of your big nights out, Emma. And you both got all dolled up, so you should at least enjoy your date." She looked at Ravi and added, "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he said. He nodded at Emma and Xander. "She's right. Enjoy your evening of romance in this greasy burger pit." He sipped his milkshake. "I'm content with this heavenly concoction."

"Lou does look nice," Xander said, nodding at Ravi.

Emma tried not to laugh. Lou looked over her shoulder for anything to distract her.

Ravi blushed and murmured, "The milkshake, obviously."

"Oh, yeah. It's not a date or something," Xander said. He wrapped his arm with Emma's and started toward the table. "Anyway, thanks guys."

Ravi read a sign on the wall that told the history of the burger bunker. Lou held her tray and watched Emma and Xander get settled at the tiny table. The couple shared the seat, each of them practically falling off. They laughed and held hands and grinned at each other lovingly.

"Come on," Lou said to Ravi. "Let's go slum it with my ex-date and my ex-boyfriend."

She and Ravi slid into the booth where Hazel and Eric were force feeding each other fries.

"Emma kick you off her date?" Hazel mocked, missing Eric's mouth and shoving a fry in his nose.

Ravi held back a laugh and Lou shook her head unamused.

"Just eat your nose fries, Hazel," Lou said. She unwrapped her burger and smiled down at it. The cheese had melted over the edges of the squishy bun and the meat had a greasy shine. She held the treat to her mouth but slammed it down shortly after.

"Seriously," she said as Hazel and Eric engaged in a fierce tongue battle. "Now I've lost my appetite." She pushed her tray away.

Ravi closed his eyes then shrugged. He took a sip of his shake. "Shake's still delicious."

Lou couldn't stop a giggle from slipping out as she looked over at him.

"Here," Ravi said. He covered her eyes with his hand then shut his again. "Now just tune out the horrible sound of them swapping spit and enjoy your cheesy burger."

Lou grinned. She patted around the table until she hit the plastic tray. She pulled it over then picked up her burger. She took a bite and enjoyed the meal while Ravi covered her eyes and hummed Justin Timberlake songs as loud as he could.

Soon Hazel pushed Eric away and said, "I've got to use the can." She climbed over him and skipped to the bathroom, her now messy pigtails bobbing along.

Eric wiped the peach lip-gloss off his mouth with the back of his hand. Lou had finished her burger and was intently listening to Ravi talk about the workshop he planned on giving his campers in a few days.

"That sounds really cool, Ravi," she said to him.

"I'd love some help. And I'll need a counselor to supervise, anyway. If you're interested, of course."

"Yeah. I'd like…"

Eric interrupted by knocking his fist on the table. They looked up at him.

"Woodchuck," he pulled his fingers through his well-conditioned hair then thumbed his miniscule mustache and winked, "Want to come over here and cuddle?"

"No," Lou said flatly. She gave him a look that could wilt springtime blossoms.

Ravi stood up from the booth and offered his hand to Lou.

She looked up at him and he smiled at her.

"Want to come over here and not cuddle with Eric?"

Lou beamed and took his hand. "Yes."

Eric rolled his eyes and called out as the two walked away, "You've got to be kidding me! Him? You'd rather date him?"

Lou pushed open the glass doors and she and Ravi stepped out into the cool night air. Lou hadn't noticed she still had a firm grip on his hand until they reached an empty picnic table under the parking-lot streetlight. She murmured an apology and let go before taking a seat on the edge of the table.

"It's okay," he murmured back, hopping up beside her and folding his hands in his lap.

The music was still loud and so were the crowds, but under the streetlight Lou and Ravi were hanging out in their own little world.

"Thanks for coming with me tonight," Lou said, looking up at the stars.

"Aside from Eric being Eric and Hazel being Hazel and me trying not to freak out that it's like 3 a.m., I had a good time," Ravi said. "By the way, we so need to keep Hazel away from Eric. She's awful, but she's not that awful."

Lou nodded and they bumped fist. "Agreed."

They sat in a comfortable silence, gazing up at the stars and people watching.

Ravi looked over at her and said shyly, "You, uh, look nice by the way."

Lou grinned at him but he quickly turned away. "And Emma said you didn't care if I looked hot or not."

"I don't." He shrugged and stared down at his hands. "Not that you don't look hot. You do look hot. But not in a weird way, like in a good way that friends who are not on a date can say that you're hot." He looked up at her and couldn't help but smile. "You don't know how happy I am that I know you know I have a much better vocabulary than I do at this moment."

She chuckled. "Alright, I won't pick on you too much."

"I thank you."

Lou lifted her gaze back to the sky. "Well, this has been an okay not date." She slowly moved her hand with her palm up, enough of a motion for Ravi to notice, to the space between them. "But if it were a date, it'd be a really nice one."

Ravi hesitated, not sure if he should make a move. He inhaled, exhaled, then placed his hand in hers.

"Then this is a date," he said.

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"**_ _ **We're uncomfortable at this party.**_ _ **"**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties. (A lot of them.)**


	8. Hero

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr. *The relationship is established in this one.***

The camp mess hall was mostly empty after the lunch rush. Only a few campers had stayed behind, finishing off expired pudding or checking the tables for abandoned spirit beads for their lanyards.

"Now, remember, I want your honest opinion."

Lou peeked over the edges of the manuscript and hummed her response before shifting her focus back to the last paragraph. After thirty more seconds of holding his breath, Ravi exhaled when he saw her put the stack of papers down on the mess hall table.

"It was," she began.

"Riveting? Compelling? The next great piece of American literature!"

"Long."

He sat there beaming at her. He motioned for her to continue with the praise he anticipated, but she sighed and shifted uncomfortable on the bench. He deflated, his shoulders sagging and the corners of his mouth tugging down.

She perked up, "But…"

He straightened a bit and prodded hopefully, "But?"

She put her hands over her face and groaned. "Aw peanuts. I can't lie to you." She settled her arm on the table and reached out to him. "But it was awful. Terrible. It kind of sucked."

Ravi pulled his hands from hers and stuck his nose in the air. "Well, thank you for that."

"No, don't be mad," she said scooting out of her seat and moving to share a bench with him. "You said you wanted my honest opinion."

"Don't you know people never mean that when they say it, especially a writer." He crossed his arms and slid to the far end of the bench.

Lou pulled heavy pages toward her. "You spend the first fifty pages describing the dietary habits of the hero's sidekick. Who cares what a robot-lizard hybrid eats with her afternoon tea?"

He slapped his palm on the table and faced her. "It's called world building."

"I believe the 'b' word you were looking for is 'boring,'" Lou teased. She flipped through the pages, seeing flashes of color every few chapters from food stains they'd gathered from her lunchtime readings. "And the hero doesn't even solve a real crime."

"Excuse me, but exaggerated findings in an environmental study are most certainly a crime."

"Not if nobody's impacted by it."

He slid back over, bumping into her side, and scooped the pile of papers over to him.

"Excuse me, but several of his love interest are very concerned about the June beetle."

She rolled her eyes and said, "And that's another thing. Why does he have so many girlfriends?"

"Because he's a ladies man," he stopped stacking the manuscript and added quickly, "But that was before you and me and us."

Lou smirked and leaned closer to him. "I knew it! This guy's supposed to be you!"

Ravi turned away and stared up at the ceiling. "Is not."

She nudged him with her elbow and said, "Aw, don't be embarrassed."

He looked down at his hands. "I suppose you think that I kind of suck now too."

"Never."

He looked up to see her smiling at him. She held out her hand for him to hold.

"I like you," she said.

He laced his fingers with hers and said, "And my book?"

"No. Your book is terrible. But you, you're not."

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"You saw me reading the same book you did and we got into a heated discussion on how much it sucks."**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties. (Like a lot, ha.)**


	9. Gifting

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

Campers ran around the great lawn, soaking each other with water sprayers and tossing water balloons. Most of the camp was participating in the annual water fight, but some had opted out for fear of the water source being used. They instead chilled in the mess hall or in the dry zone in front of it. That's where Lou and Ravi were.

The corners of Lou's mouth twitched as the fake grin plastered on her face faltered. Her eyes were wide and she hoped they conveyed surprise instead of the terror tugging at her gut. She held the offending item away from her as if it were a bag of rotting garbage or the rotting corpse of roadkill.

"Do you not love it," Ravi asked excitedly, clearly expecting praise for the labor of love he had just gifted her.

"I do not," Lou said between a forced chuckle.

She saw the slight drop in Ravi's posture and the beginnings of a disappointed look creeping across his once delighted face. Holding back a gag, she clutched the item to her chest like a beloved treasure and made a show of hugging it, twisting her arms from side to side.

"I mean I do! Love it, that is," she said. "It's something," she mumbled, looking down at it.

"I am glad to hear it. It took nearly a week to complete, but it was well worth it for that smile on your face," Ravi said.

Lou could feel the strain in her neck from keeping on the grin. She wished she had kept walking when he had called her over to the tree beside the mess hall. He had waved her over, practically jumping up and down with something sunburn-pink in his hand. She was sure of her mistake when the first thing out of his mouth when she trotted over was, "I knitted you a jumper."

"What, uh, inspired you to make such a," Lou started then finished through clenched teeth, "masterpiece?"

Ravi flicked a stray piece of lint from the yarn getup and said, "You don't remember? I told you I was taking a knitting course from the camp librarian and I wanted a practice project."

Lou looked down at the pink jumper in her hands. It was like something a giant toddler whose parents despised her would wear. Just looking at it made her skin hot and itchy. She combed her memory for what could've possibly possessed her to agree to potentially own such an ugly outfit.

Then she remembered.

"Oh. Yeah. I guess you did mention something about," she lifted the jumper slightly, "this."

She remembered. It was late and he was the only one who had stuck around to help her cleanup the lawn from movie night. She was trying not to tip over into the giant trashcan of popcorn she pushed to the dumpsters as her eyelids were heavy with exhaustion. He steadied her and told her to sit on the picnic table while he got rid of the rest of the trash. She sleepily agreed and waited for him to return. When he did, he sat beside her and pointed out the names of some stars she wouldn't remember in the morning. Those same stars shinned in the dark pools of his eyes and she didn't care if she had no clue what he was talking about, she was willing to agree with anything he said. But now she remembered the thing that he said was that he was taking a knitting class.

She sighed and said, "Thanks, Ravi. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he beamed at her. He gave her a slight nod before turning on his heels and walking away.

At that exact moment, a camper lodged a water balloon that burst all over the front of Ravi's shirt. Lou covered the genuine smile on her lips and stifled her laugh. She decided the water balloon almost made up for the ugly jumper. Almost.

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt "** _ **I knitted you a jumper."**_


	10. Delivery

**Author's Note: I do not own Bunk'd. This collection of unrelated oneshots is based on OTP prompts found on tumblr.**

"That's two crispy chicken wraps, an order of home fries, and a side of gravy."

Ravi read from the flimsy square of paper stapled to the plastic takeout bag. The brim of the red baseball cap cast a shadow over his face in the flickering light of the hallway.

"Right on time," the hungry customer said, rubbing her hands together in the doorframe. She took the bag and grinned. "As always."

Ravi smiled back, hoping it didn't look as dopey as he felt. His face heated when he realized he was staring at her, and he shifted his eyes to the tweed welcome mat in front of her door.

She handed him a twenty from the pocket of her plaid shirt and said, "Keep the change."

"Thanks."

They stood there for a moment, glancing at the stock-photo-esq photos placed along the hall's wall. It was mild for July, but Ravi felt beads of sweat bubbling above his brow. He raised his hand stiffly and waved before starting a brisk walk back to the elevator.

Lou took a step back into her apartment and pushed the door forward. She stopped it midway and poked her head out the door.

"Hey, guy, what's your name?"

Ravi winced, turning away from the creaking metal doors of the elevator. He back peddled part of the way. Pointing a finger at his chest, he raised his eyebrows at her. Her cheeks puffed a little from a small smile. He jogged back to her door and stuck out his hand.

"I'm Ravi."

She gave him a firm handshake and he had to resist flexing his fingers.

"I'm Lou," she said, leaning her shoulder against the door. "I figured, we see so much of each other I may as well introduce myself."

"Every day this week," Ravi nodded. He tucked his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels. "You and your boyfriend must love The Chicken Barn." He glanced into the room behind her and saw two bicycles propped against a small dining table.

Lou raised an eyebrow and tilted her head to the side. "I thought the restaurant was called The Chicken Ranch?"

"Right! It's called that, the ranch." He chuckled. "I get it confused with this other place sometimes."

Lou opened the takeout bag, inspecting the goods inside. The smell of fried potatoes made her mouth water. "You've got to be like a lucky charm or something because ever since you started delivering it's like the food has gotten better."

"How kind of you to say," Ravi beamed. He had to will himself not to declare his love for over a potato compliment. He shook his head and cleared his throat. "You probably don't want those chicken wraps to get soggy in the aluminum. One for you. One for your boyfriend or roommate or sibling or boyfriend."

"Nope. They're both for me," Lou said. She snapped her head up and narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you implying that this is too much food for one person? Cause I grew up on a farm and we were proud to have a hearty helpin' for dinner."

Ravi's eyes widened. "No! Not at all. Food is delicious. Have as much food as you want. I like your figure," he scratched the back of his neck and looked away, "I talk too much."

Lou relaxed and twisted the bag in her hand. After an awkward silence she said, "Alright then. I better go eat this." She wiggled her fingers in a wave then disappeared behind the door.

Ravi exhaled and face palmed. "I should've got in the elevator when I had the chance," he muttered to himself. He stared at the door, hovering his fist over it and debating if he could come up with something clever enough to fix whatever had just happened. He held back a groan then walked down the hall and jabbed the down button.

"I don't have a boyfriend."

His heart fluttered as he turned his head slightly and saw her peeking out the door of her apartment.

"My roommate hates to cook and he's never here. And maybe eating home fries every night isn't the best health choice, but I'm still new to the city and I can't find a decent grocery store." She tucked some stray hair from her ponytail behind her ear. "Anyway, thanks. Ravi."

"Same time tomorrow," Ravi said, still surprised that she had opened the door again or remembered his name.

She gave a slight nod then softly shut the door.

* * *

 _(One Week Prior)_

 _Zuri laughed, slapping her hand against the kitchen island. She had ditched her red hat, freeing her coiled curls, and pulled off the unflattering polo that went with her delivery uniform. Her snowy tank top had a fresh stain from the mango juice she had just spit out during her laughing fit. She glanced at Ravi as he climbed down the stairs then waved him over._

" _Ravi, you have to look at this video," she snorted. "It's the funniest thing I've ever seen."_

 _Ravi frowned at the delivery uniform on the counter and said, "Aren't you supposed to be working?"_

 _Zuri rolled her eyes. "I'm done with that lame job. I already called Mom and told her I quit, and she's too busy with Dad working on that new movie to make me be responsible." She opened the camera app on her phone and took a selfie, pouting her lips and holding up the peace sign. "Rich folk problems."_

 _Her older brother grabbed a kitchen towel and dampened it in the sink before tossing it to her._

" _I thought you wanted to be more responsible," he said and pressed his palms against the granite._

" _I am," Zuri said, holding out the vowel. "I'm graduating high school in a year. See responsible." She pulled a plastic container closer to her and popped open the lid. "Besides, I'm saving some poor sucker from all the salt in this crap excuse for food."_

 _She lifted a compostable fork over the soggy, gravy-smothered fries but Ravi pulled the container away before she could chow down._

" _Hold on. You didn't finish your deliveries? This person is waiting expectantly for his or her dinner."_

" _I'm sure," Zuri opened the delivery app on her phone and scrolled through the names, "Lou H. will be fine. It's New York. She'll find something to eat."_

 _Ravi swiped Zuri's phone out of her hand._

" _Hey!" She protested._

" _This is unacceptable," Ravi said. He pulled opened a drawer and took out a cap-less pen and paper napkin. He jotted down the name, order, and address._

" _Give me my phone, nerd patrol," Zuri said as she snatched it back._

 _Ravi ignored her and inspected the cold food slumped in the container. "That won't do," he muttered to himself._

 _He went over to the fridge and searched for ingredients. He piled a head of lettuce, a bag of tomatoes, a pack of tortillas, and a container of raw chicken onto the counter._

" _You're not seriously cooking for some rando," Zuri said flatly, tucking her phone into the back pocket of her denim shorts._

" _I seriously am." He lifted a bag of potatoes from under the counter. "And you're going to help."_

" _But I don't want to," Zuri whined._

 _He handed her a cutting board and said, "It's not like we'll have to do it again."_

* * *

Ravi exited Lou's building. The orange light of the fading sun cast a glow on the row of parallel parked cars and expired parking meters. Zuri pushed herself off the lamppost she had been propped up against and tucked her phone into the pocket of her silk bomber jacket.

"Why do we keep cooking and delivering to this stupid building? Won't Lou H. realize the number you gave her and the website you made for her to order on isn't legit."

"No, because I am a genius. And do you want me to call mom and actually tell her you quit because we both know you were bluffing a week ago," Ravi said, smugly crossing his arms.

Zuri groaned and tossed her head back. "Why didn't I move to Italy with Emma when I had the chance!"

Ravi tossed his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Cause you love me, duh. Now let's go. I've got to compile a list of grocery stores within the parameters of this building."

 **End note: This was based on the OTP prompt** _ **"**_ _ **I've ordered take out every night this week and you always seem to be my delivery person.**_ _ **"**_ **Obviously, I took some creative liberties.**


End file.
